Carrier for boats



-"De. 15, 1959 as. PARROTT CARRIER FOR BOATS Filed Nov. 1, 1954 vINVENTOR GORDON "s. PARROTT ATTORNEY CARRIER FoR BOATS Gordon G. ParrothEast Grand Rapids, Mich. Application November 1, 1954, Serial No. 465,943

2 Claims. (Cl. 9-1) This invention relates to boat carriers and more particularly to a boat. carrier consisting of a pair of detachable wheel mountings so designed that they may remain on the boat at all times and permit the boat to be carried in either an .inverted or an upright position.

The object of this invention is to provide a light weight carrier whichis useful both as a means of facilitating the loading of the boat on a vehicle top and as a means for facilitating the movement of the boat from a vehicle to its launching site.

These and other objects and purposes of this invention will be immediately seen by those acquainted with the design and use ofboat carriers upon reading the following specificationand the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

. Fig. l is a front elevation view of my invention showing the wheel mounting in one operating position in solid lines and infthe other operating position in phantom lines.

Fig. 2 is a central sectional view taken along the plane II-'II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 an end elevation view ofa boat equipped with my invention as it would be positioned when the boat has been launched.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation view of a boat equipped with my invention as the invention would appear when the boat is being transported in inverted position on land.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation view of a boat equipped with my invention showing the invention as it would appear when the boat is being transported in upright position on land.-

In executing the objects and purposes of this invention, I have provided an anchor bracket equipped withmeans fordetachably mounting it to the" boat structure; The anchor'bracket has a hinge so located 'that when the unit is mounted on the boat, the hinge will be adjacent the centerline of the boat. This hinge secures a leg to one end of which is mounted a wheel. By pivoting the leg about the hinge, the wheel may be raised or lowered so that in one position it is above the boat and the other position is below the boat.

A pair of these supports are used, one on each side of the boat to provide support and stability for one end of the boat.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral indicates an anchor bracket having a U-shaped hook 11 at its upper end. The size of the hook is such that it will readily fit over the stern board of a boat. The short 25- and to one side of the leg 18 is a freely rotatable 2,916,747 :7 Patented Dec. 15, 1959 end of' the hook 11 is equipped with a fastening means such as the threaded wing bolt 12. It will be recognized that any other fastening means may be substituted for the wing bolt 12 and this invention is intended to embrace any such fasteningdevices.

The long leg13 of the anchor bracket 10 is, in effect, a strap designed to lie against the exterior face of the boat. At a point substantially removed from both ends of the strap portion 13, a hinge 14 is secured to the strap 13 by any suitable means such as welding. The hinge 14 must be of a design which will permit 180 of rotation. The purpose of this will appear more fully hereinafter.

Secured to thehinge 14 by suitable means such as welding is an elongated strap-like leg plate 15. The outer end of the leg plate 15, by means of welding, mounts a strap: 16, the outer end of which is formed into a loop 17.' The plate 15 is used purely as a reinforcement since the strap 16 and the material of the hinge 14 have to be of thinner gauge to permit the formation of the loops 17 and the one used at the hinge 14. It will be recognized that the strap 16 and material of the hinge 14 may be a single piece if desired. It will also be recognized that it is within the concept of this invention to eliminate the reinforcementv plate 15 and head or corrugate the strap 16 in such a manner that reinforcement is unnecessary. ,All of these various ways of building the leg 18 are to be consideredas part of this invention.

The leg 18, adjacent the hinge but spaced suificient of the studs. Preferably, the ends of the studs are slightlypeened: to prevent the wing nuts from becoming com-'; pletely detached. The size of the slot 20 is such that the wing nuts, while still mounted on the studs, may pass through it.

It will be recognized that various other types of fastenet-locking means may be used to effect the holding of the leg in either of its operating positions, and this invention is not to be construed-as limited to the specific wing-nut arrangement illustrated.

A stub shaft 25 is firmly secured within the loop 17 at the .outer end of the leg 18. Mounted on the stub shaft wheel 26. Thewheel may be of any suitable construction but should have suflicient diameter to permit the boat to be readily moved over the ground and have a tread of sufficient width that the wheel will not sink in soft earth under the weight of the boat.

Thevariousparts for my carrier maybe manufactured from any. sultable material such as steel, ,magnesiumor; aluminurnl' If" necessary, to prevent corrosion, they" should be plated or, painted to prevent rapid disintegration in the water and to prevent the rust from marring the finish of the boat.

Operation over the top of the stern board 30 of the boat with the top of this board seating tightly into the hook portion 11. The thumb screws 12 are then tightened, locking the unit to the boat. No other attachment is necessary since the width of the anchor member acting against the top edge of the stern board tends to prevent side movement of the fittings. Also, the large bearing surface of the anchor member against the exterior surface of the boat resists any swinging movement. The anchor member 10 is so designed that when the hook portion 11 is firmly seated against the top of the stern board 30 the pivot point of the hinge 14 is substantially midway between the top and the bottom of the boat. Thus, whether the leg 18 is turned up or down, the wheel 26 will be clear of the boat and will not be hindered in its rotation.

Fig. 4 shows the boat in inverted position, such as it would be as it is removed from the car top carriers of a vehicle. In this case the legs 18 are pivoted so that the wheels project beyond the top of the boat and support the boat above the ground. With the wheels in this position, the legs 18 are held against pivotal movement by tightening the wing nuts 22 on the stud 21.

Preparatory for launching, the legs 18 maybe moved to their opposite position. In this case the wing nuts 22 on the studs 21 are loosened and oriented with the slot 20 so that the leg 18 may be moved over the Wing nuts and flipped 180 so that the wheels will project below the boat rather than above it. The wing nuts 22 on the studs 21a are then tightened to lock the legs 18 in position. In this manner the boat may be picked up from one end and by means of the supporting wheels 26 at the other end of the boat may easily be moved by a single person down and actually into the water until it floats. The wing nuts 22 and the studs 21a are then loosened and the wheels returned to their original position above the top of the boat. They may remain in this position throughout the use of the boat, since being spread as far apart as they are, they will not interfere in any way with the operation of an outboard motor which may be mounted on the stern of the boat or with any rudder structure which may be present.

Where detachability of the whole unit from the boat is not desired, the anchor brackets 10 may be permanently secured to the boat by bolting them directly to the exterior surface of the boat. In this situation the hook portions 11 of the anchor brackets 10 may be eliminated. If it is desirable to permanently mount the anchor brackets 10 but to make the legs 18 and wheels 26 removable, this may be accomplished by equipping the hinges 14 with removable pins.

It will be seen from this description that this arrangement provides an inexpensive, simple and easily maneuvered means of supporting the boat for transport to and from the water. The invention is so designed that it adds little or no weight to the boat and may remain permanently on the boat, if so desired, since it neither interferes with its navigation on the water nor with its transportation on the top of a vehicle. If the wheels interfere with a vehicle after the boat has been mounted on the car top carriers, they may be flipped into the opposite position and thus the interference eliminated. The weight of the wheels and their mounting structure is 4 relatively insignificant, therefore, not appreciably adding to the burden to be lifted by the boat operator when the device is placed on the transporting vehicle. This invention, when not in use and not mounted on the boat, may be compactly stored in a very small area.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention with the carriers mounted to the stern panel of the boat, it will be recognized that this invention, while still using the central pivot point principle, may be applied to the side of the boat to produce the effect of carriers capable of supporting the boat in both upright and inverted positions without the necessity of removing the carriers from the boat. The basic principle remains the same. This and other such modifications are to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. In combination a boat and a wheeled support therefor, said wheeled support having a pair of anchor brackets; means for detachably securing said anchor brackets to the back panel of said boat, one on each side of the centerline thereof; a pair of leg members; means for pivotally mounting one end of each of said leg members to one of said brackets adjacent the midpoint between the top and bottom of said boat; a wheel rotatably mounted to the other end of each of said leg members; each of said leg members being pivotable through a semi-circular arc to extend either above or below said boat; the length of said leg members being such that when said leg members are in either their raised or lowered position said wheels will be clear of said boat.

2. In combination a boat and a wheeled support therefor, said wheeled support having a pair of anchor brackets each adapted to be mounted against an exterior portion of said boat, one on each side of the centerline thereof; a pair of leg members; means for pivotally mounting one end of each of said leg members to one of said brackets adjacent the midpoint between the top and bottom of said boat; a wheel rotatably mounted to the other end of each of said leg members; each of said leg members being pivotable through asemi-circular arc to extend either above or below said boat; the length of said leg members being such that when said leg members are in either their raised or lowered position said wheels will be clear of said boat; the axis of pivotal movement of said leg members being parallel to the adjacent portion of said boat whereby said wheels pivot outwardly from said boat; a pair of threaded studs on each of said anchor brackets, one on each side of and equally spaced from said pivotal mounting means; a slot in each of said leg members adapted to cooperate with said studs; a wing nut on each of said studs, said wing nuts in one position adapted to pass through said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 693,034 Kurz Febrll, 1902 1,203,980 Clarke Nov. 7, 1916 2,219,254 Davis Oct. 22, 1940 2,624,591 Choplin Ian. 6,,1953 

